


Through Mirrors.

by enigmaticma



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Not Beta Read, Wiccan - Freeform, reference to war and dystopian worlds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28695558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticma/pseuds/enigmaticma
Summary: In a world where the distance between you and Soulmate is written in bold golden numbers, Minseok woke up to a golden zero in his wrist. He could have given up if he didn't meet Baekhyun who was sure their soulmates were just a dimension away.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol, Kim Jongin | Kai/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Kim Jongin | Kai/Park Chanyeol, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14
Collections: Vargavinter Round 1





	Through Mirrors.

**Author's Note:**

> #Self-prompt
> 
> I would like to thank the Mod Frost for taking good care of me for so long despite how disappointing my story is. I also like to thank the people who made Vargavinter work, by prompting and by writing for the fest. I'd love to see you next round
> 
> The story is not beta read.

Minseok was excited for his eighteen birthday. 

He had a lot of dreams of finding his soulmate and living happily ever after.

He prepared for his hunt, looked for ways to find soulmates, and then the birthday happened. 

Minseok had planned to celebrate it later that week since it was a school day, so he just sat down, counting the hours, the minutes and the seconds to the reveal. 

As he had his eyes closed, his mother’s word rang in his ears. “Don’t try to look for your soulmate right after you get the number, just wait to see how big the radius is.” 

The number was the distance between you and your soulmate in meters, on a circular scale. His senior at school, Changmin had a proud golden hundred written on his wrist and everybody envied him in his school because it meant his soulmate was in the city. 

“I hope my soulmate is in the city too,” Minseok whispered as he kept counting down mentally to midnight. When he opened his eyes, a wave of nervousness hit him. What if his soulmate was in a different country? How could he find the person? What if it was a boy? What if it was a girl? He didn’t care either way but he worried still. 

He pulled the sleeve down and frowned. 

“Impossible,” he whispered to himself, “this can’t be true.” 

A golden Zero was written on his wrist. 

A zero.

What did a Zero mean? Doesn’t he have a soulmate?

He looked at his wrist with dread, pain and fear mixing inside his guts like a boiling pot. His first reaction was to wrap his wrist with a bandage and curl in the sheets as he cried as silently as possible.

His mother found him like that in the morning. Crying in his sleep, curled around his wrist, tired-looking, Minseok didn’t look like he could go to school so she called the school and woke Minseok who didn’t say anything. “You can rest some more today,” she assured. 

“Can I not have a birthday party?” He asked his mother as he played with his food. 

The woman had no idea what to say but accepted anyway. It was Minseok’s birthday and he could plan it the way he wanted it. She still alerted the family that Minseok had a sudden sickness and preferred not to make everybody sick.

His father and little sister were too worried but as Minseok shut everybody down that morning, they could only look at him hopelessly. “I will ask my friend for a medical notice, so he can stay the entire week,” Minseok’s father offered before leaving to work. 

Usually, Minseok took his sister to school but her mother took her. 

He had the house for himself for enough time to actually think of what to do. He can just say he found his soulmate and he is not happy about it. Like that, people won’t pity him.

He washed the dishes and cleaned the space before cleaning his room and picking his books, working on homework just because he didn’t want to think.

Struggling to solve a math problem sure did wonder to make him stop thinking about the 0 in his wrist.

He returned to school, thinner, paler, sicker, so everybody bought the sickness excuse. “Hey, how do you feel?” Junmyeon approached him, “did you get to see your wrist’s number? Why is it bandaged?” 

“I didn’t get a number,” Minseok lied, “Mom said it happens and I just need to wait.” 

“You didn’t?” Junmyeon tilted his head, wondering, “I never heard of people getting their number late. Maybe it means they aren’t born yet?” 

Minseok looked at his friend and classmate as if he slapped him before slapping his head, “of course! My soulmate isn’t born yet,” it brought him to hope to say that and he looked at his friend before pouting, “but isn’t above eighteen years of difference big?” 

“Well, they are your soulmate,” Junmyeon commented with a thoughtful look, “I guess as long as you are both adults and in love, it won’t matter? I know many couples with over twenty years of age gape and they are super happy and in healthy relationships. You just need to wait until they are over twenty.” 

Armed with hope, Minseok ran home to explain it to his mother, maybe she would let him know. “Mom,” she looked at him in surprise, relieved to see him smiling, “I think my soulmate is not born yet.” Minseok unravelled his wrist before she could comment and they both froze at the golden one written on it. “What? No, it was zero!” Minseok looked as the numbers shifted, from one to three, then five before they went back to zero slowly. 

Minseok thought he would go insane before his mother grounded him with a hug, “don’t panic, my love.” Her voice was soothing. “I am sure there is an explanation,” she said suddenly before making him focus on her. “Just focus on your goals and we will find a meaning behind this.” 

Minseok wrapped his arms around her and sobbed, pitifully. “Mom,” he whimpered as she tried to let go, “I don’t want to be alone.” 

Yet, he was. Technically, every person he approached had or was looking for their soulmates so trying to live with a changing number was hard. 

During his military service, Minseok noticed how the number changed when he was outside his bed. As it was bare all the time, Minseok could see the numbers go from one to fifteen, then go back to Zero. “Is it a ghost?” A soldier asked.

The Question raised a debate. “Aren’t ghosts people who died? It doesn’t make sense since everybody had a soulmate,” was one of the arguments.

“Except for those who didn’t? What if the said person was born in a different era from our sergeant?” Minseok wondered if he had a ghost soulmate since then and it made things even worse.

He joined a university to major in economy and tourism when he bumped into a man. They collided in the hall leading to the library, both of them had books, and Minseok was soon on the floor with the much taller load laying above him. 

“Oh! I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there,” the man said and Minseok remained struck there so much the man was _beautifully_ _handsome_ , “are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Minseok looked away, embarrassed, “I am sorry, I didn’t notice you with the heaviness of the books. I was kinda struggling.” 

The man laughed and he knelt to pick the books as he said, “I had my share of heavy books too, so it is okay.” 

Minseok did as much before noticing an open book he knew wasn’t his. It had a theory of parallel universes written in one of the chapters. He closed the book to notice the “Soulmate” in the title. The title made him look at the man’s wrist, noticing the zero on it. “You have it too, the golden zero.” 

The man paused packing books and looked at Minseok who showed his wrist. It had one written on it, “you don’t have a soulmate?” 

“No, I had a zero when I could see the number and it soon started changing on its own, as if my soulmate was around but I couldn’t see it,” Minseok explained, “are you studying about it? Can I join you?” 

The man looked like he hesitated for a second, before nodding with a smile. “I am Byun Baekhyun,” the man introduced himself with a hand offered.

Minseok held the hand and smiled, “I am Kim Minseok.” 

They went to the library together, as Minseok decided to ditch his day’s courses and assignments to listen to Baekhyun’s theory. Baekhyun explained to him that according to the theories, the people who disappeared had golden zeros because they didn’t belong to their dimension. “Our soulmates are in a mirror dimension of ours. They do the same thing as us, walk in the same space as us, which is why the distance between us and them is zero,” he explained.

“Couldn’t it be a ghost?” Minseok asked him.

Baekhyun shook his head, countering, “when someone dies, their soulmate loses the number, so it is possible nobody keeps a number in their afterlife.” Good theory. Minseok sighed because he sure wanted to see his soulmate. 

“Isn’t there a way to see your soulmate?" Minseok asked him. "As a way to communicate so, we can test the theories."

Baekhyun picked a book and Minseok was shocked to see “Wiccan Practices and Witchcraft” in the title. “This is a book I found that explained the process of the Wiccan practices which actually were effective with soulmates,” Baekhyun started before making a face, “It could break soulmate bonds and make soulmates find each other easier. But! I found a practice with Mirrors when facing two to each other, you create a vortex kind of field and you can use a spell to allure your soulmate closer to the mirror.”

“Did you try it?” Minseok asked him, curious.

Baekhyun shook his head. “I was still looking for other options. I refuse to attempt things without theories and algorithms so I tried to study the effect of Wiccan or Witchcraft practices, which are two different entities by the way. All Wiccans are witches but not all witches are Wiccan if you want to put it simply,” Baekhun rambled, “I tried to look for meditational options since we feel energies through our tattoo so maybe we can channel those energies to send messages or make the navigation toward our soulmate easier.”

Minseok nodded before picking a book and announcing, “Well, let us get it done!” 

Minseok literally missed two full days worth of lectures but was glad his roommate got notes. The man didn’t question why Minseok was busy since they were helping each other through the struggle of the College’s life.

Minseok found himself overwhelmed with loads he didn’t feel ready to handle, but he pushed himself anyway… He was eager to feel normal like other people again.

He was eager to find someone to belong to. 

Baekhyun shared the same sentiment, which helped their friendship to blossom. “Did you know that everyone in our dimension, if my theory is right, has a soulmate in another dimension?” 

“That would mean that people like us, are the variations of other people outside our dimension,” Minseok said, thinking, “which means I may or may not have a soulmate who found a soulmate in his or her dimension.” 

“Possible,” Baekhyun mused as he noted it down. “Man, how I’d love to try our theories, I am sure one of our ideas would work.” 

Baekhyun had tons of ideas, from trying sigils with mirrors to spirit boxes with coordinations out of their world, Minseok didn’t believe any of them would work but there was no harm in trying. Baekhyun was a huge believer that trying was the only way to find answers so Minseok went for it. 

They tried the spirit box before the exam weeks and Baekhyun was disappointed that whatever calculation they made didn’t work. They also tried a few tricks before they gave up as the exams approached and they had to pass them first. Minseok wasn’t even focused on the exams, he partially was too eager to find his soulmate to care about exams but gladly, he was tedious and managed to keep himself above the surface of his school loads. 

He didn’t return home after the exams as Baekhyun told him he got five mirrors to try their sigils with. “It was a miracle I could find a space for us to put those mirrors in,” He explained as he led Minseok to an abandoned side of the campus. It was underground, clearly used as a storage room, even though half of it was empty except for human-sized mirrors placed in a pentagram. “I already placed the mirrors, we just need to draw the sigils and make sure it is flawless.” 

“I hope we won’t end up opening a hell’s door on us,” Minseok said as a joke only for Baekhyun to look quite terrified by the idea.

“What if we actually open the door to hell?” He asked Minseok who was busy fixing the details on the sigil he drew. 

“We will close the sigil as soon as we notice something off,” Minseok assured him but Baekhyun remained worried until the end. “Look, I’ll give my blood to finish the spell, okay? If it works, I’ll take full responsibility and if it doesn’t, then… we will try something else.” 

“Okay, fine,” Baekhyun said, not even convinced, and he handed his pocket knife to Minseok who didn’t hesitate before cutting his pinky. It was a small cut but it bled enough for him to write the last word inside. They waited, looking at Minseok’s wrist when the number went from 3 to 0 and Minseok looked up to notice something in the mirror. 

“Oh my god,” he yelled as he rushed inside the circle. There was behind the mirror someone standing and looking at him in shock. 

“Minseok,” Baekhyun called him suddenly, “you better look behind you.” Minseok looked behind him and noticed a couple on the other side of the mirror. He was shocked but as he looked at his wrists, the gold colour of his numbers dulled. It was about to turn black which only meant that his soulmate was here.

He looked at Baekhyun in shock. “How can we open the mirrors? Can’t we? I want to hear them,” Minseok said before he realized he was crying. “I want to hear them. I want to know who my soulmate is among them.” 

Baekhyun shuffled through his book, frowning. “I think we missed a step, let me check,” he said. At some point he handed Minseok the knife and said, still looking through his book. “It only says that blood activates the portals so try that.” 

Minseok literally slit his palm open, touching the mirrors and waiting. He was looking at the lonely man who touched the bloody handprint Minseok left in the mirror before he disappeared and returned with a knife too. He did the same as Minseok which made Minseok hold into the mirror frame, waiting. He noticed how the man’s fingers went through and he stepped back, with a wide-open expression. 

His eyes were still full of tears and they only doubled when the man stepped in his space and just pulled him close. “You exist,” the man said.

“You exist too.” Minseok held the man like his life depended on it. He had never felt like that before as he was full of joy, his mind felt light and clear, and everything seemed to be a million times brighter. 

“Excuse me,” A voice behind them made Minseok and the man part and they looked at the couple, clutching into each other. Minseok noticed their gears first, then the sickly states of their bodies. They looked like they didn’t eat in ages or showered, or drank water for that matter. “We… What happened here?” 

“I used a magic spell to call upon my soulmate and I think it’s one of you or…” Minseok said when he noticed that his wrist lost a shade but wasn’t black yet. “Wait,” he said holding the closest hand to his. One jumped in alert but they didn’t react as Minseok seemed focused on his wrist, “my soulmate mark isn’t black yet.” 

Looking at the shortest man so far among the strangers, Minseok held out his hand which was held the second his mark turned black. 

“You are all my soulmates,” Minseok said as the man behind him approached the couple and touched them too. 

“We are all each other’s soulmates,” The man said in shock, “that’s impossible.”

“Technically, it isn’t,” Baekhyun spoke at that which startled the four of them. “It only means that people had soulmates all over the possible dimensions and…” 

“No, Baekhyun,” Minseok said before looking at him. “My mark didn’t go black until I touched them all, no one’s mark can turn black if they didn’t meet every soulmate they had.” 

Baekhyun was surprised but thought about it for a second. “Logic, it also explains why such cases aren’t much known too, rare are those who considered the theory of interdimensional soulmates but also rare who considered finding a reasoning behind their mark’s not-really-black shade.” 

Minseok wanted to speak but suddenly a hand on his shoulder made him look back. “Do you know how to close the door? I think they will be able to come through,” The short man beside him said and Minseok nodded before taking vinegar to wipe a small section of the sigil. It turned the mirror normal as they touched them.

“I can open them up for you if you want to go back,” Minseok said, worried. The couple shook their head and looked behind Minseok to the man who touched the mirror he came from. “Do you want to return to your world, Mister…” 

“Chanyeol, my name is Park Chanyeol and I don’t think I want to,” Chanyeol said before looking at Minseok who blinked when the man touched his cheek. “I had an aimless life there.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” He looked at the couple, “how about you too?” 

“Anywhere is better than in that world and I’m sure my family would understand,” The tallest one said. “I’m Jongin Kim, Code name Kai, and this is my boyfriend Do Kyungsoo code name D.O.” 

“I’m Kim Minseok,” Minseok said as he bowed his head low then pointed at Baekhyun. “This is Byun Baekhyun, my friend. We were working on finding our soulmates through college hence why we are here.” 

Baekhyun approached them, shaking hands with them. “I think it would be better to leave this space, sit somewhere nice and talk.” The couple nodded to Minseok before they looked at the man who looked at his mirror. Jongin held Minseok’s shoulder and it made the man look at him. 

“We will go ahead with Mr Baekhyun,” he said, “talk to him.” 

Minseok didn’t find it odd that Jongin who didn’t know him at all was open enough to tell him to do something. It didn’t make him feel weird to approach Chanyeol and touch him.

It just felt right. 

“Are you okay?” Minseok asked almost in a whisper.

Chanyeol nodded. “I am anxious. I just never loved the life I had, neither did I feel like I belonged to it, but I am anxious about the people I left behind. Would they be sad? Would they be hurt?” He sighed before looking into Minseok’s eyes. “I was planning to end my life today if you didn’t do the entire mirror thing.” 

Minseok looked like someone slapped him and Chanyeol quickly held him closer, his expression softening. 

“I am not going to do that, I assure you. It was to escape my world and I technically did.” Chanyeol’s words were sincere so Minseok relaxed. “I am glad I found you before I make that mistake, Minseok.” 

“I am glad I did it too.” Minseok held Chanyeol’s hand, still shaken. “Let me know if you feel down, okay? Don’t hold it back.” 

Chanyeol smiled, nodding and he led Minseok out to where Baekhyun and the couple were. They found the couple lying in the middle of the garden, smiles on their face. “It took you a while,” Baekhyun remarked.

“What are they doing?” Minseok asked as he pointed at his soulmates and Baekhyun just lifted his arms in surrender. He approached the couple and knelt by their side. “Are you okay?” 

“We didn’t see the sun in more than a decade,” Jongin commented with joy. He inhaled the air so loudly it made Minseok smile. “Damn, the air is much fresher than I could dream of.” 

“I guess you lived in a polluted area,” Minseok commented, offering his hand to them. 

Kyungsoo nodded before holding Jongin’s and Minseok’s hands offered to him. “The pollution made it impossible for us to either stand under the sun or to see it,” he explained as he stood. Jongin nodded at that. 

“No wonder you look pale,” Minseok commented. “Let me take you for lunch.” 

Jongin and Kyungsoo enjoyed Lunch the most while Chanyeol kept asking Minseok questions about his world and his life. They found out that Chanyeol and Minseok lived almost the same life, except that Chanyeol had a job in a bookstore since highschool.

“We need to report them to the police, though,” Baekhyun said as they were done eating, “as long as you are their soulmates and they are yours, the authority would definitely recognize them and provide them legal papers so they can live in our world properly.” 

“Won’t we be in trouble?” Jongin asked Minseok worriedly.

“I don’t know but we have to tell them about you,” Minseok assured him. “For you to stay, you have to have something like this.” He showed them his ID card and they pulled up theirs. “Oh, 2125 and 2123, These dates are a century away from now.” 

“Different dimensions running in different timelines,” Baekhyun said as Chanyeol pulled his ID card that has 1954 written on his birth date. 

“Does it matter?” Kyungsoo asked them and both Baekhyun and Minseok shook their heads. “Anyway, Jongin and I are both old enough to find jobs and work so we won’t be a burden, however, I would like to know how safe we are here.” 

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked and the couple exchanged a look before they nodded. 

“The dimension we lived in was in a state of war,” Jongin explained, “some alien force tried to destroy the earth by polluting it and humanity turned our world into a huge military base. Only a few of us remained alive, as the aliens managed to put toxic chemicals in our waters and our air.” Jongin paused, looking lost. “I wish I could go back just to find the rest of my team and save them but I am afraid I can’t. We were too weak to fight anyway.” 

“We weren’t going to last another week with the little food we had too,” Kyungsoo pointed out. “However, we don’t know how safe we are here and if your world is in a state of war.” 

“Yeah and no, some countries are fighting against each other but that doesn't mean we are all in a state of war.” Minseok said with a thoughtful expression, “you can say we aren’t in a state of alert but ready to defend ourselves in need.” 

“We go through military training for two years as a mandatory procedure,” Baekhyun said as he noticed Jongin and Kyungsoo’s tense expression. “You may go through that too because it is a mandatory thing for everyone in this land.” 

“I won’t mind,” Chanyeol commented. 

“We don’t either but we hope we won’t have to,” Jongin said with a tight smile. Minseok nodded at him, reassuringly and that seemed to ease him. 

They drove to Minseok’s place as Minseok considered it better to let his parents know about this. To say his father was furious was an understatement. His parents are usually calm and composed but he was furiously scolding Minseok in front of his soulmate. “You had to consult us before even trying to look for your soulmate! And did you even think things through? What life can you provide them now when you are just a student? Who is going to keep them safe from the world which is far from being like theirs? You can’t leave your career path to protect them 24/7, you had to plan things though, you know that!” 

Minseok didn’t lift his head, looking at his hands. “Yes, Father. I am sorry.” 

“You should be sorry for your soulmates,” his father hissed before sighing. “I am not against finding them but at what cost? They deserve to have a proper roof above their head, to have food on their table and you are the only one out of the four of you able to provide them until they adapt.” 

“I understand, Father. I didn’t think this through, I am sorry,” he admitted, feeling hurt at how right his father was. At least Jongin and Kyungsoo needed a secure space to be in. They fell asleep despite the fight while Chanyeol just followed Minseok’s mother, offering his help in the kitchen.

“Father,” Chanyeol spoke as Minseok’s father stopped yelling. “I am aware how messy the situation is but I am sure we will figure it out. I had very small jobs before I joined the bookstore I worked in, I can join any job as long as it is a reasonable one and can bring food to our table.” He held Minseok’s shoulders. “He doesn’t have to be the one providing us, we can work on it together.” 

“I am glad you think so, son, it eases my mind to know my son has someone to count on,” Minseok’s father said with a smile and left.

Minseok felt the guilt and the overwhelming negative thoughts in his mind melt the second Chanyeol touched him so he sighed. “Being around you clouds my mind but I can’t say I dislike it.” 

“It’s not a bad thing then,” Chanyeol said with a smile. “The kids are asleep, help me carry them to a proper bed.” It was relatively easier than how Minseok and Chanyeol anticipated. They were thin and incredibly light. “They got much better since they crossed the mirror.”

Minseok covered them and nodded. “They look less sick so I hope they will get even better,” he said before looking at Chanyeol. “Let’s sleep?” 

The tall man nodded before shyly approaching Minseok when they fixed the futons. “Can I cuddle you?” Chanyeol asked and Minseok eyed him in shock. “I… I am sorry, I just... “ 

“Sure,” Minseok said with a smile. “Get in bed then.” Chanyeol did and opened his arms for Minseok who just chuckled and made himself small in the man’s hold. 

“You are real,” Chanyeol whispered eventually as he and Minseok fell asleep. 

Getting Chanyeol, Jongin and Kyungsoo social ID numbers was easier than Minseok expected. Apparently, Baekhyun and he weren’t the only ones who tried to find their soulmates from other worlds.

“They just need to test on chemicals, get a full medical report then we will proceed on giving them temporary citizenship of five years,” the social worker explained, “then if they apply to pass their military service, manage to have a job or a diploma during the five years, we can grant them full-time citizenship. Otherwise, they are to be locked in camps outside the city.” 

Minseok felt chills run down his spine and noticed how Jongin and Kyungsoo looked as scared as he was. Meanwhile, Chanyeol was calm, he bowed to the worker. “Thank you for clearing it up for us. We will pass the test today.” 

Minseok didn’t know where Chanyeol got his courage from because he was overwhelmed with fears. He was scared they would strip him off from his soulmates and it was eating him. 

“We will be okay,” Chanyeol said as they left the office, holding their papers. “I’ll do anything so that we will get our citizenship.” 

“Yeol,” Kyungsoo whispered in awe before he nodded to both Jongin and Minseok. “I’ll do anything too for it to work.” 

Jongin gave Minseok a definitive nod, before holding Kyungsoo’s hand and Chanyeol’s arm. “Let’s go!” 

Minseok couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly happy they were showing determination. It meant a lot for him right then. The test went smooth, even if Jongin and Kyungsoo nearly had panic attacks no matter how they tried to deny it. 

“Tomorrow, once our tests’ result comes out and we are done with the report, I’ll hide under my blanket for a week,” Jongin said as they left the hospital. Minseok chuckled, ruffling his hair. 

“I’ll treat you to sweets after the hospital, okay? Just hang on,” Minseok promised and held the two closer. “The whole process won’t take more than a week and then, we can forget about hospitals.” 

Chanyeol made sure to make dinner before both Minseok’s parents were there. “I used to work in a kitchen as a part-time cleaner,” he said with a grin when he was praised for the food. “I may try and aim at jobs like that.” 

“Kyungsoo and I are good with mechanics!” Jongin butt in, “we can help too!” 

Minseok smiled at them. “Then, we will do that after your military service, which is mandatory if you want permanent citizenship. Once you are out, I’ll have a diploma and probably secure an internship somewhere.” 

“Sounds like a good plan,” Chanyeol said before eyeing the two worried boys. “This is not your world, you don’t have to fear what would happen in the future, Soo, Jongin. Just trust us on this.” 

“You don’t seem scared at all,” Jongin commented.

“I am but I’m also determined to have a happier life than the one I had before. I’ll do what I wanted to do and I’ll enjoy what I couldn’t enjoy,” Chanyeol simply said, turning the stove off and setting the food on the table, under his soulmates’ eyes. 

It was clear Chanyeol was living with a vigour none of them had. It made Minseok happy and worried about Chanyeol. He made sure to kiss Chanyeol’s head when they cuddled, feeling Jongin’s arms holding into him. 

They were shocked however to know that both Jongin and Kyungsoo were suffering internal damages while the couple just dismissed the prescriptions. “I don’t want to live on medicines, hyung. Just let us heal the natural way. Healthy food, clean water and clean air are all we need.” 

“If so is your wish, but if something happens, I’ll buy the meds, okay?” Minseok asked only for the couple to nod, pulling him and Chanyeol into a group hug. They could tell the couple was worried and sorry to burden them with such news. It made Chanyeol sleepless that night, so was Minseok.

“Worried?” Minseok whispered and Chanyeol smiled before shaking his head.

“Determined.” Chanyeol pulled Minseok close enough to whisper, “I’m determined to do anything for us to be together.” 

Minseok shivered and smiled when Chanyeol looked at him, a fire burning in his expression. As Chanyeol kissed his head and pulled him to a tight hug, Minseok realized he had never felt so strong, emotionally, as when he had them around him and made a mental note to thank Baekhyun for trying to find their soulmates. 

Speaking of Baekhyun, Minseok made sure to assist him while the man tried the mirrors on himself but sadly nothing came out. “Maybe you need to try another technique,” Chanyeol commented as Minseok’s soulmates joined them. “The social worker said people found their soulmates through tons of different ways but sadly, they tried to keep them under the radar.” 

“Yeah, I’ll probably keep looking for them,” Baekhyun assured, hope still sparkling in his eyes. Minseok patted his back and looked at his soulmates, hoping his friend would feel the strength emanating from such a bond.

They didn’t step further than where they were, mostly because Kyungsoo, Jongin and Minseok were such reserved people. Chanyeol was always the one initiating the skinship, hugging, cuddling, or kissing them on their head. He also managed their health properly, even if Kyungsoo and Jongin refused treatment, until the two boys fell into a healthy routine, eating well, sleeping well, working out, and just emotionally preparing themselves for the new world. 

Minseok felt bad about it, especially when he had to go back to school, leaving Chanyeol with such responsibility. “Chanyeol,” he said over the phone when he called to check on them. “I am sorry.” 

“For what?” 

“For not helping you with all this,” Minseok admitted, tearing up. “I feel like I did put everything on your shoulders, and I can’t help but feel sorry.” 

“Don’t be,” Chanyeol said with a chuckle. “I’ve never felt so happy, Minseok. Taking care of you and the kids are making my heart and heart at ease. I am really happy.”

Minseok sniffed, forcing a chuckle as he realized he was about to sob. “You need to stop calling them kids, they could have the same age as us.” 

“I doubt it, I’m sure I’m the eldest,” Chanyeol assured him teasingly. “And even if I am not, they are still kids, we all are in a way, but we will grow up. Together.” Minseok found himself shedding tears, sniffing hard while Chanyeol sounded like he was smiling. “I can picture it, you know. I can see us, each with a job, taking Jongin and Kyungsoo on dates, spending time together or separately, and just going wild until we are in our nineties. We may get old but I doubt I’ll stop being so happy.”

“Chanyeol,” Minseok sniffed, smiling, as tears ran on his cheeks. “I can picture it too and sounds marvellous.” 

“I want to go wild soon,” Kyungsoo’s voice rang from beside Chanyeol and Minseok chuckled. 

“Yeah, let’s go wild soon,” Jongin added, “and stop calling us kids. I think we are much more mature than both of you.” 

“The fact you were in a war since birth doesn’t make you more mature,” Chanyeol pointed out and Minseok just listened to them bicker. “It just means that I’ll take care of both of you for the rest of my life until you stop mentioning it.” 

“No, _we_ will take care of each other for the rest of our lives,” Minseok said knowing well that they are all listening. “All of us, okay?” 

“Okay,” echoed in his ear and he chuckled.

“I love you, soulmates.” As soon as it left his lips, he realized that he meant every letter of it and his chest felt warm.

Chanyeol’s voice broke while others sounded happy. “We love you too.” Minseok could imagine how happy they were to hear him say it and it made him the happiest. 


End file.
